Black Channels
| rarity = Uncommon | type = Unit Enchantment | casting_cost = | upkeep_cost = | research_cost = | effects = Target Normal Unit, Hero or Undead receives the following bonuses: * Melee Strength; * Ranged Attack Strength (including short-range, if applicable); * Defense; * Resistance; * Hit Points per . If a Normal Unit or Hero is targeted by this spell, they become Undead permanently. }} Black Channels is an Uncommon Unit Enchantment of the Realm. For it may be cast on a friendly Normal Unit, Hero, or Undead on the overland map to boost all of its combat attributes, including a rare increase to its maximum per . If the unit was not Undead before, it will now permanently become one. That is, this property will remain even if Black Channels is removed from the unit. Effects Black Channels turns a regular, living Normal Unit or Hero into a vile Undead creature, but also bestows several powerful bonuses on that unit. This transformation is dramatic in itself, carrying both added bonuses and penalties, and is entirely permanent. However, Black Channels can also be used to simply empower a unit that is already Undead, although it may not be cast on native Fantastic Units. Undeath : Before Black Channels' temporary bonuses are considered, it is important to explain its permanent effect - turning a Normal Unit or Hero into an Undead unit. This is an attribute that is neither an ability nor an enchantment. It could best be described as a curse, but it's not exactly that either - it can not be removed by any means, short of the complete destruction of the unit. Naturally, the transformation only occurs when Black Channels is cast for the first time. Afterwards, any subsequent castings can only re-apply the temporary effects. Undead require no sustenance, and are unquestioningly loyal. Normal Units and Heroes who become Undead no longer have an Upkeep Cost in either or . While persistent magic spells cast on them still need to be maintained, including Black Channels, the unit itself requires no Upkeep either. If Black Channels is removed or dispelled, the unit will have no Upkeep Cost at all! Undead Heroes and Normal Units retain all of the abilities and numeric attributes they had in life, including any benefits they have already gained from . However, they stop accumulating any more , and can thus gain no more . They are now considered to be Fantastic Units associated with the Realm, and will no longer be affected by spells and abilities that only work on Normal Units or Heroes, either harmful, or beneficial. On the other hand, effects that apply to- or against creatures will all treat them as such. Certain magics of the Realm are also extra effective against these units. Undead also gain some of the signature immunities of units, although it should be noted that this feature is bugged in the official game, and most of these will only actually apply while Black Channels is still in effect. As such, they are listed among the spell's other effects instead. The one that does get added without the enchantment is Death Immunity, which renders Undead units impervious to many spells and Special Attacks associated with the Realm. Being Undead does have one significant drawback. It disables natural healing, and nullifies the effect of most healing spells as well. Undead can only restore lost in one of two ways: by dealing Life Stealing Damage, or by possessing the Regeneration ability. Heroes have an easier time here, as both options are available to them by finding and equipping the right Magical Items, and spellcasters can also utilize if their controller knows this spell. Normal Units however, can only gain access to the latter, and even that requires the Very Rare and expensive spell . Unless, of course, they are Trolls, in which case they likely already have this ability. There are also two inconsistencies in the latest official version of the game that are worth noting here. The first one is that while may not be cast on Undead, Black Channels can be used on a unit. In this case, the unit will keep its Realm association, and is still considered to be a creature, although all other effects of also being Undead do apply. In addition, the Armsmaster Hero ability continues to grant to Undead Normal Units, even though they are prevented from gaining any from all other sources - this is one of the penalties for their transformation. Melee Strength Bonus While Black Channels is affecting a unit, the strength that unit's Melee Attacks is increased by , although only if it had such an attack to begin with. This grants the unit two extra dice to use on its Attack Rolls in melee - including Counter Attacks - improving both its maximum "raw" potential as well as its average output. Because this bonus applies on a per- basis, it naturally benefits more than ones. Ranged Attack Strength Bonus While Black Channels is affecting a unit, that unit's Ranged Attack Strength is improved by +1. It gets one extra die on its Attack Rolls, increasing both its maximum- and average "raw" output. That is, if the unit has any kind of Ranged Attack in the first place. This effect is not limited to long range ( , , or ) attacks however, it also applies to short-range abilities - , , and even the Conventional Damage component of Gaze Attacks is also increased. Similarly to the Melee Strength bonus, this one is also more beneficial for , as a single attack action allows each of their individual to perform a separate attack. Defense Bonus Black Channels grants its target a Defense bonus of as long as it remains in effect. This improves both the maximum- and average Conventional Damage reduction of the unit by allowing it to use one more die on its Defense Rolls. This can be particularly useful against opponents, as it will apply against each individual 's attack. Resistance Bonus While Black Channels is affecting a unit, that unit's Resistance score is increased by . This makes it easier for the target to avoid the effects of Unit Curses and Special Damage attacks. Hit Points Bonus Black Channels is one of the very few effects in the game that can increase a unit's maximum Hit Points, also known as its per value. When cast it will, in practice, also "heal" the unit by this amount, since this improvement is applied without any adjustment to the Damage Points recorded for the unit. That is, its current health is also increased by the same amount as its maximum: for each of its active . Of course, this again makes Black Channels more beneficial the more its target has. Having more means that each in the unit can take more before being destroyed, thereby increasing the unit's survivability. However, it should be noted that in the latest official version of the game, there is a peculiar bug associated with the removal of Black Channels because of this benefit. This is explained in more detail below. Death Creature Immunities While under the effect of Black Channels, the enchanted unit gains the four signature immunities of creatures. Although the game documentation claims that these are granted by the Undead attribute, this is not actually the case in the latest official version, in which that only bestows Death Immunity. As long as Black Channels remains active however, its target does gain the benefits of Cold Immunity, Illusions Immunity, and Poison Immunity as well. The first of these renders the unit nearly impervious to Cold Damage, a Damage Type dealt by the and spells. The unit's Defense is considered to be against them which, in practice, means that it is extremely unlikely to ever take any from either. The second immunity not only lets the Black Channeled unit see through Invisibility, but also prevents it from being targeted by Unit Curses from the Realm, and lets it use its full value against any Illusion Damage directed at it. Finally, the unit will never take any Poison Damage either, as it will automatically pass all Resistance rolls it ever has to make against it. It may be worth noting that starting with the Unofficial Patch 1.50, Undead do correctly gain these immunities as well, and will thus retain them even if Black Channels is removed. Usage Black Channels may be cast only on the overland map, for the basic Casting Cost of . If the casting is successful, the game will prompt for a friendly Normal Unit, Hero, or Undead unit to be selected as the spell's target. On the overland map, this typically requires clicking on the army stack that contains the unit which, in turn, brings up a list view of all units in that stack, allowing for the target to be picked individually. Only units not already under the effect of Black Channels may be chosen. Once the spell is cast, a glowing outline appears around the unit (unless it is overridden by a stronger enchantment); and Black Channels, along with its icon, will be displayed in the unit statistics window when inspecting this unit. Black Channels has an Upkeep Cost of that must be paid at the beginning of every turn to keep the spell in effect. This is automatically deducted by the game from the owner's pool as long as the enchantment remains in existence. If there is insufficient in the pool to pay for the spell, then it will dissipate, ceasing its effect immediately. It may also be cancelled manually by left-clicking its name in the unit statistics window of its target unit. However, this action can only be performed outside of combat, during the caster's own turn. It's worth noting that in the official version of the game, units still count as Normal Units on the overland map. This means that Black Channels may be freely targeted at such a unit overland, even though the game would not allow this during combat. The enchantment will then work as normal if the target enters any battle. This is considered to be a bug however, and is no longer the case in the unofficial patches, which will instead also return an error when trying to target the unit overland. Acquisition As an Uncommon Spell of the Realm, Black Channels may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbook. With none, the spell can naturally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Black Channels to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 10% (with book), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master Retort, or a bookshelf containing or more. Black Channels may also be selected as a starting spell by players who allocate all of of their picks into books when creating their Wizard. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins. Strategy Black Channels offers an interesting trade-off, and should not just be cast randomly. Units turning Undead receive several negative properties that they didn't have previously, such as the inability to heal, susceptibility to some spells, and inability to take Normal Unit Enchantments. Thus, casting Black Channels on a unit that would otherwise be powerful could turn it into a liability. On the other hand, the bonuses bestowed both by Undeath and by Black Channels itself may be worth this. The unit becomes stronger and more durable, and gains all of those fantastic immunities that can make it very useful against , and even armies and opponents. One approach would therefore be to make a large army of low- or mid-tier Normal Units and use Black Channels on all of them. After all, these are cheap, and so it wouldn't be too much of a shame to lose them to an anti-Undead force - and they get stronger bonuses in the meanwhile. Unfortunately, Black Channels' relatively high Casting Cost may make this strategy less useful than it sounds. Having access to an Armsmaster Hero in this case can be extremely beneficial, as they can keep training these troops despite their inability to gain otherwise. Alternatively, Black Channels can be used to turn high-tier units into Undead, and boost their power even further. This is particularly useful for Wizards that also have access to the spell - the only method to heal Undead Normal Units. With this enchantment, the Black Channeled unit will no longer be lost when its run out. Undead Heroes may be able to heal themselves even without Spellbooks too, as the Item Power and the spell both deal Life Stealing Damage and, if they are lucky, they could also find or purchase a Magical Item with the power. It's also worth remembering that Black Channels can be cast on any Undead unit, even if they were originally Fantastic Units, despite the fact that it can't otherwise turn them into one. This presents a natural combination with units and spells that can create Undead from slain enemies, and can empower such "acquisitions" further. Should Black Channels be dispelled, it may also be re-cast to restore its bonuses, although this unfortunately can not be done during combat. Known Bugs The game has a significant design oversight when it comes to maximum per granted by spell effects. When such an effect begins or ends, it simply adjusts the unit's per , without ever modifying its recorded Damage Points. While this may be considered appropriate when applying the effect, meaning that it also "heals" the target that it affects, doing the same upon its removal can result in effectively damaging the unit. If it has taken enough to not survive without those extra , then it should be destroyed if this was indeed the intended behaviour. However, this never happens, the computer does not even check whether the unit has sustained more than it has without the spell. Thus, even if it had, it is still allowed to continue its existence as a "phantom" unit with . It remains visible on the overland map, and can even be commanded during combat despite being completely invisible (there are no in the unit, so nothing is drawn on-screen). If such a unit ever receives any , it will be destroyed immediately. It also does not heal naturally - but then again in this case the unit is already Undead, so this doesn't matter. Even if the unit has enough left to survive, removing Black Channels will likely yield an unexpected result if it has suffered virtually any . This is because instead of removing one from all remaining , the game simply recalculates the count from the unit's base statistics, which typically means that it will have less than it had right before the spell was removed. This is a very messy way of doing things, and the examples below should illustrate why. Example #1 :Lets take a unit of Slingers. This unit has , with each Slinger having , for a total of . Under the effect of Black Channels, each Slinger has - double the amount they originally had. The unit's total number of Hit Points is , so we can say that Black Channels increased the unit's Hit Points by - this will be important later. :Now lets assume this unit is damaged: are lost. The unit has remaining, each with . The unit survives the battle, but after it's done, we remove Black Channels from it. Here's what happens: :# The unit's total Hit Points count is × = . :# We reduce this by the same amount that the unit received from Black Channels, which was . Therefore, the unit now has a total of - = . :# Finally, we recalculate how many the unit would now have, given that it only has a total of left. Without Black Channels, each Slinger has only , so the unit now has with each. :Due to this recalculation, we started with a unit with each, but have ended up with a unit having each. This is because the game does not actually track , only taken. Explaining it this way, the the unit has lost in the battle amount to × = points of . Removing Black Channels does not modify this value, thus we end up with a unit that has missing out of its now maximum of × = , resulting in only remaining. Example #2 :Now lets assume that the same unit suffered casualties during combat while Black Channels was still in effect. So, the unit has left, with each, for a total of in the entire unit. This is what happens now, when the spell is removed: :# The unit's total Hit Points count is × = . :# We reduce this by the same amount that the unit received from Black Channels, which was . Therefore, the unit now has a total of - = ! We can already see the problem right there. :# Finally we recalculate how many the unit would now have. Obviously, with , the unit has left. :This confuses the heck out of the game, because as far as it is concerned the unit should still be alive. Logically it should be - it had just a second ago. The program simply doesn't bother to check whether the unit should still be allowed to exist. This results in a phantom unit which, as explained above, continues to exist until anything so much as sneezes at it - at which point it'll be destroyed. So what does this mean? A phantom unit is inherently unstable; the game was not designed to handle the existence of units with , and may end up crashing for all sorts of subsidiary reasons (especially divide by 0). This is more likely to happen if the unit goes into combat and ends up being targeted by enemy spells. Since the unit does not get natural healing, it will likely be stuck in this condition permanently - or until destroyed. Fortunately, being Undead, it also has no Upkeep Costs (except any enchantments still affecting it, but these can be cancelled). If there is no way of healing the unit in an artificial manner, it may be better to disband it immediately to avoid crashes, though the unit may also just be sent off as a scout or to harass enemy armies. It has no other use. Of course, the best way to handle this is to never cancel Black Channels while a unit is severely injured, but sometimes this is not up to the player. If at all possible, Black Channels should be cast again on the unit, as it will immediately fix any of the problems caused by its previous removal. Another good way to recreate this unit is to cast on it and then send the unit into battle (not alone!). Once in combat, the unit does heal each turn, and will also be completely restored to full health and with if the battle is ultimately won - even if the unit itself is destroyed while fighting. Category:Unit Enchantments Category:Death